This term, at Alderwasley Hall School we have been developing life skills to use facilities and shops within our local community. At the start of the academic year, students found it difficult to complete shopping tasks and required lots of additional support to use a shopping list, search for items and use a check out manned by a cashier.

Re visiting a selection of shops and coaching the students to use cash, a shopping list and use the cashiers, rather than self- service check outs is now something that all of the students can complete confidently, calmly and accurately. This may seem to onlookers, a simple task, but for our class there is a range of complex needs that must be met in order to teach the students how to complete daily living tasks that they will need for their life outside of Alderwasley and without one to one support.

Watching the students develop these skills has been awarding and a self-esteem building moment for the students. As their tutor I have seen how they are able to regulate themselves within a range of environments and how much they have enjoyed completing mathematical challenges outside of the classroom. It is something they look forward to and ask about within the class.

The shopping task has not only been a living skill task, the shopping list has involved shopping for items to use for the weekly bake sale that the class have completed together. They have raised over £50 this term, which has paid for a trip to the National Civil War Museum- a recommendation from a student in the class!

The National Civil war Museum

The museum was ASD friendly and was able to provide weighted rucksacks and ear defenders for students, and also have a quiet sensory room for the students to use throughout their visit.

We would strongly recommend this as a class visit- an insight into a somewhat quiet market town, with lots of interesting items for students to engage in…. costumes, weapons , videos and a fake news interactive tasks. The volunteers at the museum were informative, engaging and patient with our students and it was a pleasure to see them enjoying themselves with their friends in a place that was new to most of them.